Great or Grating?

My band-packed funfest continued Friday when we headed over to the Nomad to catch a little of Coach Said Not To's set. We were early, so we caught opener Sleeping in the Aviary. They started off too frenetic for my taste, but I warmed up some to their sound, which brought to mind Tapes 'n Tapes. Their cover of The Exciters' Tell Him was a clever match to the aggresive vox style. But wow did one of his former girlfriends do a number on the lead singer...every song screamed it. Hmm...I'm guessing he just might have been too intense for her!

I had high hopes for Coach Said Not To. I'd heard good things, and I'm always ready to get behind a band fronted by females. Of the 4 or 5 songs we caught, I really liked their sound. It had an ambient, sexy quality that reminded me of Zero 7, though faster and not nearly as electronic. Unfortunately, the lead vocal for all but one of those songs had a voice and a pretentious phrasing that I found grating. If I had known before the show that their latest release was entitled Words That I Employ, I wouldn't have been as surprised. But one of the songs was sung by the bassist, who had a gorgeous, full voice. Maybe she sings lead more than I heard, but if not she should!